Calculated Move To Defame Judiciary: Supreme Court On NCERT’s New Book Containing Chapter On Corruption In Judiciary
It was noted that the Bar and Bench were collectively "perturbed" by the inclusion of such themes in school materials.
The Supreme Court has taken serious objection to the newly revised National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Class 8 Social Science textbooks.
The books allegedly highlight "corruption in the judiciary" and "massive backlogs" as primary challenges facing the Indian legal system.
The issue was mentioned before the Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi.
Chief Justice Kant said, "As head of the institution. I have done my duty and I have taken cognizance. This seems to be a calculated move... I know how to deal with this...I dont want to say much..."
The matter was brought to the court's attention on Wednesday by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Mentioning the issue before the Bench, Sibal expressed that the legal community is "deeply disturbed" by the fact that young students are being taught that the judiciary is a corrupt body.
Singhvi further highlighted the "selective portrayal" of corruption in the curriculum. He said that the textbooks seem to single out the judiciary while ignoring similar challenges in other branches of governance, creating a biased perspective for eighth-grade students.
"Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench are all perturbed. All the High Court judges are perturbed. We will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anyone to defame or denigrate the institution. I know how to deal with it," the Chief Justice stated firmly.
Justice Bagchi said, "It looks like the book seems to go against the basic structure itself."
The Court said that appropriate legal action would follow.